RELIGIOUS
ACCOMODATION FOR HINDU PATIENTS, INMATES, RESIDENTS,
EMPLOYEES OR STUDENTS

The
following is a brief list of observances, practices and
injunctions that must be observed by institutions housing
people who consider themselves Hindus.

SPIRITUAL
CARE PROVIDER

Any
form of spiritual and religious care for Hindu patients,
inmates, residents, employees or students must be performed
by an individual who is a Brahmin and either

the
qualified Hindu Chaplain employed by the institution
housing the individual or

by
an ordained Pandit (Hindu Minister) who has been
previously screened by the College of Pastoral
Supervision and Psychotherapy or the Ontario Multifaith
Council on Spiritual and Religious Care as well as Hindu
Chaplaincy Services and approved by the institution
housing the individual.

Institutions
must ensure that any individual wanting to administer
spiritual and religious care to Hindus must be either the
Hindu Chaplain employed by or officially affiliated with the
institution or a person designated by the Hindu Chaplain
employed by or officially affiliated with the institution or
a previously screened and approved individual as indicated
above.

POLICIES
ON RITUALISTIC MATERIALS

Spiritual
and religious care providers to Hindus must be familiar with
the institution policies on the:

Use
of incendiary materials such as candles, oils, camphor,
ghee, deeyas, agarbatti (incense sticks) etc. during
worship and the restrictions imposed by the Fire Policy
of the particular institution and any exemptions thereof.

Ingestion
by patients who are immunodeficientof
ritual ingredients such as ganga jal (holy water),
panchaamrit, charanaamrit, wafers, prasad etc. used in
blessing and sanctification rituals and the policy of
the particular institution on sterility and quality of
food acceptable for ingestion by patients.

Adorning
of patients who may be hypersensitivewith sacred paste (chandan and vibhuti) and/or
perfumes in preparation for or after the completion of
religious rituals and ceremonies and the policy of the
institution on the use of substanceswhich
may be allergenic and/or potentially harmful.

ITEMS
FOR WORSHIP

Normal
times for individual worship are bifore sunrise and
after sunset. Before beginning of worship the patient,
inmate, resident, employee or student must perform
ablutions to clean and purify the body. Ablutions
facilities should be provided in order to accommodate
these individuals.

For
individual worship, patients, inmates, residents, employees
or students may use some or all of the following:

a
comfortable mat for sitting on the floor

a
rosary (Shiva or Tulsi maala)

sandalwood
chalk or paste scented or

unscented
incense sticks (agarbatti)

camphor,
oil, ghee and cotton balls or wicks

a
lighted lamp (deeya) or lighted candle

some
holy water (ganga jal) in a container

a
picture, metal or stone murti(s) (statue) of a

Hindu
deity or deities

a
copy of an authentic Hindu scriptural text

other
items as approved by the Hindu Chaplain

For
health, safety and security purposes, institutions
housing Hindus who are either patients, inmates or
residents, may restrict the use of incendiary materials
which may be requiredby these individuals during worship. Prior
approval must be obtained from the appropriate
authorities for use of such materials by the individuals
wanting to use them. In some cases, supervision by the
Hindu Chaplain or the appropriate designate, may also be
necessary.

Patients, inmates,
residents, employees or students may need to cover their
heads during worship. For males, a hat(kishtee) or a
turban (pagree) and for females a scarf (orhnee) is
generally used and preferable.

FASTING

Many
Hindus will be fasting during thenine
days of Navaratri.
This religious observance occurs during the Spring (Vasant
Navratra)
and Autumn (Sharad
Navaratra).
During this time, from sunrise to sunset, patients,
inmates, residents, employees or students will not be
partaking of any food or drinks. As a result they should
be exempted from any strenuous activities.

DIETARY
CONDITIONS

Many
Hindus are strict vegetarians. Some are vegan or lacto-ovo
vegetarian.

For
strict vegetarians, meals should besattwic (pure). These meals must be
cooked or prepared and served in designated
utensils which are used exclusively for vegetarian food.

Meat,
fish, eggs or cheese (unless rennet-free or of certain
variety) are not accepted. Food and snacks which have been
prepared using animal by-products (e.g. lard. beef tallow)
should be properly labeled and not
served to Hindu patients, inmates, residents, employees or
students who are vegetarian.

Oils,
fats and flavorings derived from animals or any animals
by-products should not be used to prepare sattwic food.
Vegetables and other vegetarian food products must be free
from preservatives and flavorings derived from animals or
any animal by-products.

Sattwic
foods are generally flavored with either with masala (curry)
or some of the ingredients found in masala.

SLEEPING
ARRANGEMENTS

In
institutions where individuals will be sleeping overnight
the room to be occupied by patient, resident or inmate must
be blessed and sanctified prior to occupancy or shortly
thereafter.

Institutions
must also ensure bed and or sleeping facilities are arranged
in the appropriate configuration and in the proper
coordinates according to Hindu beliefs and practices.

PRIVACY
AND MODESTY

Patients,
inmates, residents, employees or students for privacy
purposes may prefer to be housed in separate room where
possible.

When
cleaning, sponging or changing undergarments, it is
preferable that female nurses should perform this task for
female patients and similarly male nurses for males.

For
bathing purposes, where patients cannot bathe themselves,
female nurses should perform this task for female patients
and similarly male nurses for males. Family members should
be allowed to aid in bathing if and when requested by the
patient or family members.

RELIGIOUS
CELEBRATIONS

Diwali(Deepawali)

Diwali
is one of the most widely celebrated Hindu festival. It is
commonly known as the Festival of Lights.
Diwali has
many significances. The most important being celebration of:

·the
triumph of light over darkness

·knowledge
over ignorance

·happiness
over suffering

OTHER
RELIGIOUS DAYS OF SIGNIFICANCE

Some
of the other Hindu days of significance are:

Janam
Ashtami (Birth of Sri Krishna)

Ram
Navami (Birth of Sri Rama)

Budh
Jayanti (Birth of Sri Buddha)

Maha
Shivaratri (Appearance of Bhagavan Shivaji)

Saraswati
Jayanti (Glorification of Mother Saraswati)

Holi
(Spring Festival)

Navaratri
(Nine days of Fasting and Worship)

Thai
Pongal (Day of Thanksgiving)

On
these Hindu holy days, employees or students should be
permitted to take leave of absences in order to celebrate
these auspicious occasions.

PERFORMANCE
OF RITUALS

Performance
of specific rituals, within the confines of the institution,
will be necessary from time to time. The following is a list
of some of the important
rituals to be
performed:

Jaatakarma
Sanskara -
performed on the day of the birth of a child and before
the child is fed for the first time

Namakaran
Sanskara – done
on the eleventh day after birth, or shortly thereafter,
for the purpose of naming the child

Navagraha
Pooja – performed
to enhance the healing process by evoking the curative
and protective properties of the Grahas. Done beforeany major invasive surgical procedures

Moorti
Pooja –performed,
upon the request of the patient, to a specific deity
invoking divine intervention, protection and blessing

Antim
Shwaas –
performed
at the time when an individual is dying and taking the
last breath

Havan
-fire oblation which is an integral component of
any Hindu ritual

Ritualistic
worship done in an institution is usually performed in a
worship space where Murtis (Statues and Icons) have been
installed. Murtis are an essential part of Hindu ritualistic
worship.

The
worship space must also be equipped with proper
ventilation and air exhausting facilities as well as fire
alarms that can be operated manually. An integral part of
any Hindu ritual is the performance of Havan (Fire Offering).
Some smoke is produced in this process. Fire or smoke alarms
located in the worship space will be turned off since the
smoke produced during the fire ritual can falsely trigger
the fire alarm.

MEDICAL
TREATMENT
AND SPIRITUAL CARE

From
an Ayurvedic and Yoga perspective equalimportance is
given to both medical intervention and spiritual healing for
the individual whose physical body is impaired and
debilitated.